1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle body attachments and more particularly pertains to a new vehicle body frame puller attachment for providing a versatile attachment device having a multiplicity of connection structures for attaching to various points on a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of vehicle body attachments for permitting large pulling forces to be applied to various portions of the body of a vehicle at various locations, typically for pulling a damaged portion of the vehicle body, such as a frame rail, substantially back into its position prior to the occurrence of the damage. Specialized attachments have been developed for different locations or body structures, and some of the attachments are able to attach to more than one location on a vehicle body or more than one vehicle body style or brand.
One vehicle body attachment is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,953 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety) is extremely versatile for attaching to a multiplicity of various structures on a vehicle body, especially structures typically located adjacent to the door openings on the vehicle body such as door hinges and door hinge mounts. While this vehicle body attachment is very useful in many different vehicle body mounting applications, it has become apparent that further improvements of the attachment would make the attachment even more versatile for adapting to different vehicle body structures, such as frame rails, and would improve the ability to connect to a pulling chain.
The vehicle body frame puller attachment according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a versatile attachment device having a multiplicity of connection structures for attaching to various points on an vehicle body.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of vehicle body attachments now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new vehicle body frame puller attachment wherein the same can be utilized for providing a versatile attachment device having a multiplicity of connection structures for attaching to various points on an vehicle body.
The present invention generally comprises a generally triangular main member having three sides with opposite side edges extending along each of the sides. The main member comprises a first side adapted for coupling to a chain to facilitate pulling on the main member using the chain, with a generally round aperture for freely passing a portion of a chain therethrough and a pair of chain slots for positioning a link of the chain in one of the chain slots such that an adjacent link in the chain is prevented from passing through the chain slot. A second side has four door hinge (and frame rail) slots with each of the door hinge slots being elongate and having longitudinal axes extending substantially parallel to the side edges. A third side has a plurality of bolt slots for coupling to various bolt patterns used to attach door hinges to different vehicles. Optionally, a pair of brackets is provided for adjustably coupling to the door hinge slots of the second side of the main member and for engaging a respective end of a door hinge on a door post of the vehicle body. Also optionally, a loop may be mounted on the main member for receiving a portion of a chain, with the loop being looped about the main member.
The invention has special versatility for pulling on various locations of the frame rails of a vehicle body.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.